Something New
by Sky45
Summary: What starts with a girls night out and ends in a place neither Cath or Sara would ever have imagined. Warning: c/s femmeslash.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I realise its been forever since I posted my first fic, but I have pretty much every excuse under the sun! Went on holiday, moved house halfway across the country and started a new job. I was having trouble writing a second chapter to my songfic so decided to start a real story while I come up with ideas for that one.**

**Hope it's ok, I dont have a beta so all the mistakes are mine.**

**Again all the normal disclaimer stuff applies, I dont own CSI or any of its characters unfortunatley. **

**Enjoy**

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Tossing the last of her gear into the locker Sara shut the door and turned to leave just as Catherine entered.

They were getting on better these days, Sara couldn't pin point when it was things changed but was very glad they did. Catherine is an amazing person, so bubbly and confident while still managing to be sensitive and caring. There were times Sara didn't know how she used to be able to live without her.

"Hey there, how was shift?" Catherine asked, smiling.

Sara returned the smile and shrugged "Just a B&E, you know the drill"

Catherine nodded and busied herself with sorting out what she needed from her locker.

"Hey Cath are you coming out for breakfast this week?" It had become a bit of a tradition that every Friday morning the team would go for breakfast together and maybe onto a bar for a few drinks.

A muffled reply came from the locker as she rooted around for that shirt she knew was in there somewhere. "uhhmm I have to drop Linds to school today, Nancy has an appointment or something.. Ah got it! I knew it was in there"

She turned round triumphantly grasping a bright blue shirt and began to head for the door. Turning in the doorway she flashed Sara one of her 'knock'em out' smiles, "but you know if you're up for it we should go for a drink later"

Sara felt her temperature rise, and nodded her agreement, praying to anyone who was listening that she wasn't going a lovely shade of red.

Catherine's grin told her no one was listening, and she looked to the floor until she heard heels clicking away down the corridor.

Shaking her head to herself, Sara wandered off in search of the rest of the guys.

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"Right then, we all set to head off?" Nick looked around at the table of nods, "awesome so who's gunna come to the bar? Rick I know I can count on you man! Sar?"

"Yup sure thing, as long as Greggo agrees to drive me home" Sara shot a cheeky grin at Greg.

"Weeelll.. I guess I could agree to that" Greg laughed and stood up to leave. "Coming Griss?"

"I think I'll leave you kids to it, I need to get to the bookstore. I have this fascinating book on order; it's all about th…"

"Ok then, good luck with that one!" Greg shot in quickly, eager to avoid a lecture.

Sara pulled her phone out of her pocket as the beep alerted her to a new message.

'_Ditch the guys; meet me at Benny's in 15?'_

Sara paused, confused for a second before typing her reply.

'_What's up Cath?'_

Almost instantly Sara's phone beeped again.

'_Nothing, girls night out it'll be fun. See you there! C xx'_

The team began to head off to their cars, "Hey guys, you know what actually I might give it a miss this week, I'm pretty shattered."

Sara knew it was a lame excuse but knew she had to satisfy her curiosity.

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Looking around the bar Sara spotted Catherine already up at the bar, chatting animatedly with the barman. She threw her head back laughing, her blonde hair swinging in loose curls around her face.

Sara sighed in a brief moment of jealousy, if only she could cause that reaction in Catherine.

Sara weaved her way through the scattered people and lightly placed a hand on Catherine's arm to announce her presence. "Hey Cath"

Catherine beamed and turned to Sara, "You came? Thank you!"

Sara nodded and shrugged nonchalantly, "Did I have an option?" She smirked and turned to the bar tender, "Can we get a couple of beers please?"

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Not much later Sara and Catherine were sat in a small booth with a growing collection of empty bottles.

"Nu-uhh, that's soo not true!" Sara stated.

"Yu huh, everyone knows it!" Catherine giggled, mentally wondering when she'd gone back to arguing like an 8 year old school kid.

"Grissom? Are you serious? Come on Cath why would I want to be with him? He's in love with bugs!"

Catherine downed her beer before continuing. "Not what I heard" She stuck her tongue out, and walked off to the bar.

Sara rolled her eyes at their childish banter and took a swig from her bottle, her eyes following the sway of Catherine's hips as she returned to the table with another pair of beers.

"Checking me out again Sidle?" she grinned setting a bottle in front of Sara.

Sara blushed for the second time that morning as she furiously racked her brain for a comeback, failing miserably.

Catherine gave Sara's shoulder a squeeze before sliding into the booth beside Sara.

"You know I was kidding right Sar?"

"Hmmm, I guess I'll let you get away with it just this once." Sara muttered pouting.

" Lets dance" Catherine suddenly decided, grabbing Sara's free hand and pulling her up before she had chance to protest.

By the time Sara had processed what Catherine had just said she was halfway to the dance floor and quickly slammed on the breaks.

"Don't think so Cath" Sara began trying to back up but Catherine was stronger than she looked.

It wasn't that Sara couldn't dance she just didn't think she could be that close to Catherine right now. She'd noticed lately that she was starting to think of Catherine as more than just a friend. Really not a good thing now considering how much they had both drunk.

"Come on Sara, you dance when we are out with the guys, don't be boring" She pulled on Sara's hand to try and get her moving again. Her blue eyes met with brown and she saw a panicked look flash across Sara's face as she shook her head quickly.

Catherine frowned slightly, confused as to what was going on. She moved closer to Sara and placed a hand on each hip, staring into her eyes. "What's up hun? Are you ok?" Catherine was concerned that she had done something wrong, this wasn't like Sara.

Sara felt Catherine's hands on her hips, burning through the fabric of her jeans. She looked at the floor uncomfortably to avoid the piercing blue eyes which were trying to read her.

The loud music and chattering voices of the bar faded out until the only thing Sara could feel was the heat which seemed to be radiating from Catherine's body. Sara's mind reeled with what it would be like to feel Catherine's hands on her skin; she took a deep breath trying to keep what little control she still had.

Suddenly the hands were gone and Sara came crashing back to the present, she looked up to see Catherine had gone. Sara scanned the bar anxiously wondering how Catherine could have disappeared so quickly. A flash of blonde hair on the other side of the dance floor caught her attention and she quickly followed, jogging while trying to avoid the people dancing.

Sara rounded a corner just in time to see the back door swing closed and grabbed the handle, there was no way she was going to mess up this friendship all over again, she had to find her.

Turning first left then right she noticed Catherine slumped against a wall by the dumpsters, her head back, looking up into the sky.

Sara approached slowly not wanting her to run off again.

"What now Sidle?" Catherine didn't even look over to her as she let out the stinging words. Sara flinched slightly and cautiously moved to stand in front of Catherine, blocking her escape.

"Look Cath, I'm sorry. Let's go back inside?" Sara pleaded with Catherine, hoping that she hadn't caused any lasting damage, though she knew she'd caused their relationship to take a step backwards.

Catherine sighed, finally looking at Sara. "I don't understand you Sara. We were getting on so well and then you go all hot and cold. One minute you're like my best friend and the next you clam up and won't even dance with me. I don't understand"

Sara didn't say anything just continued to stare at Catherine who carried on her rant, "What's going on with you Sara? Why does this have to be so hard? I can't do this anymore Sara, it just hurts too much. Either you're my friend or you're not and we go back to the way things were."

She paused, waiting for a reaction from Sara. When she got none she tentatively raised a hand, caressing Sara's cheek with her thumb. "Please Sara, talk to me? I know you hated things the way they were just as much as I did"

Sara leaned into Catherine's hand trying to process what Catherine was saying and form some kind of response. Catherine was giving her a chance to fix whatever had just happened and all she could concentrate on was the thumb moving in slow circles against her skin.

Sara let out a small sigh, closing her eyes, and put a hand against the wall beside Catherine's head to steady herself, trying to gather any scrap of composure she could muster. Instantly she realised this was a big mistake as she realised this put their faces mere inches apart.

She could feel Catherine's warm breath against her face and smell the musky vanilla of her shampoo.

Sara dared herself to open her eyes, meeting the intense gaze of the deep blue eyes in front of her. Her breath hitched as she noticed Catherine's tongue slowly glide across her lower lip subconsciously.

Catherine could feel Sara's body slowly inch closer, pressing her against the wall. This was defiantly new and her body responded before she could realise what was happening, pressing back against Sara and moving her free hand to Sara's waist.

Sara's eyes were openly full of lust as she mirrored Catherine and placed a hand on her cheek. She knew deep down that she shouldn't be in this situation but couldn't see past the beer-haze and the new found intimacy.

Before Sara could stop herself she found herself leaning forward, hand moving to run through Catherine's hair as their lips met.

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**I'm hoping that wasn't too painful to read, I've always had a bit of a grammar deficiency. Anyway feel free to drop me a review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the reviews, glad you liked it! Here's the next chapter, it's a little shorter but it seemed like a good place to stop. The next chapter will be longer I promise! And hopefully wont be too long away! Let me know what you think :)**

**See chapter 1 for the disclaimer.**

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Sara was instantly lost in the kiss. The soft lips of the woman in front of her parted, allowing her the chance she wanted to deepen the kiss. Her tongue confidently moved across Catherine's lower lip before entering.

Catherine let out a low moan as Sara massaged her tongue. Her hands slowly roamed across Sara's body, lightly tracing the skin just below the hem of her shirt.

Sara shuddered as the cool fingertips slowly skimmed across her stomach, causing her to momentarily break the kiss, only to move her attention to the soft porcelain skin of Catherine's neck.

"Mmmmm, Sara, yeh that's good." Catherine's voice came out lower than normal as she struggled to form words.

Sara suddenly froze as her brain processed who had just spoken. Every muscle in her body tensed as she slowly worked through the chain of events which lead to this moment.

'Shit. How did I let this happen? You were supposed to go after her to fix things not make them ten times worse!'

Catherine felt Sara's hands drop away and felt the sudden rigidness of her friend. Confusion played through her mind as she wondered what had caused Sara to stop.

"Sara?" She whispered quietly as she opened her eyes and tried desperately to focus and control her breathing.

Sara's eyes remained closed, her brow creased in what looked like deep concentration. Catherine gently placed a finger under her chin and tried to get Sara to face her. "Sara, honey, please open your eyes; look at me?"

Sara pulled back away from her touch as she shook her head quickly over and over again. She walked backwards and stumbled slightly as she turned and headed for the street.

Reaching her car she jumped in, jammed her keys into the lock and sped out of the parking lot. Tyres screeched as the black Ute behind had to slam on the breaks to avoid colliding into the back of Sara as she pulled out hastily into the busy traffic.

The drive home seemed to take forever in the mid-morning traffic as Sara weaved dangerously in and out of the lanes of traffic. When she eventually parked up outside her apartment she rested her head against the steering wheel, breathing slowly.

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"Sar it's ok… Sara! Come back, it's ok!" Catherine stepped away from the wall as she yelled after Sara down the alleyway. "Fine ignore me!" She muttered angrily when Sara had either not heard her or was ignoring her.

Catherine debated chasing after her but knew that she would never catch Sara, even if she tried. It'll give her time to think, she decided.

She ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath, trying to think rationally and work out her next move.

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As Catherine walked into the break room she looked around quickly skimming over the guys in search of one person.

Warrick sat on the sofa with Nick, both joking and laughing about something Catherine had obviously missed. Nick nodded in Catherine's direction and smiled; while Rick waved in her direction before winning Nick's attention back again.

Greg was leaned casually up against the counter, tapping away on his phone as the coffee brewed behind him.

Looking over to the table Catherine was surprised when she saw it was empty. That was Sara's spot. Before assignments, Sara would be sat there without fail, normally reading a book or journal as everyone waited for Grissom.

"'evening guys. Where's Sara? Grissom will be here any second, not like her to be late" Catherine tried not to be too obvious about asking but she was worried about Sara. She never missed work. Ever.

"Hey Cath, sorry not a clue, she's not been in yet." Nick drawled as Warrick shrugged and agreed.

Greg remained silent and shot daggers at Catherine; quickly trying to conceal his glare as Catherine looked in his direction.

Raising a questioning eyebrow Catherine let it drop and sat down at the table, pulling a discarded newspaper towards her. As they waited for Grissom, Catherine half heartedly read the paper while observing Greg out the corner of her eye.

Every now and then Greg would look at his phone and frown before dancing his fingers across the keypad and quickly slipping it back into his pocket.

It wasn't hard for Catherine to guess who he was texting.

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'_I can't believe I got in before you! You're slacking Sidle! What's got you so late? You weren't even out yesterday! x'_

'_Hey there Greggo. I'm not in today, I've called Gris already. Hold the fort. xS x'_

'_Umm sure, what's up?'_

'_Catherine.'_

'_What are you talking about Sara? Come on you know you're gunna tell me anyway!'_

'_I wouldn't dance with her so she stormed off. I chased her and I screwed up. She hates me'_

'_Don't worry Sara, I'm stopping by after shift we can talk about what happened then, I'm sure she doesn't hate you. Don't beat yourself up. Please? x'_

'_Have a good day Greggo xSx'_

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Gill strode into the break room clasping a bunch of papers. He handed one each to Nick, Warrick and Greg and clapped his hands as he addressed the team.

"Ok, we're a man down tonight so you're all solo. Nick – 419 in Henderson, Brass is waiting for you. Warrick - B&E. There's another one waiting for you when you get back. And Greg 405, think you can handle it?"

"Sure Griss, I got it" Greg nodded as he left the break room.

"Uh Gil? I can help Greg if you want? Or I'll take that second B&E for Rick?" Catherine said as she wondered if Grissom had noticed her.

"Ahhh Catherine, perfect. You have way too much paperwork. You have two options. Option one: you stay and do your paperwork. Option two: you can..."

Catherine didn't wait to hear what option two was but she knew she couldn't be sat in her office all shift. There was no way she would have gotten anything done.

"I'll take option two." She snapped, eager for something to stop her tired mind whirling.

A huge smile spread across Grissom's face. "Why thank you Catherine. I was hoping you would say that. Here you go. When this is done do your paperwork and then if you have time you can have a new case" Catherine took the stack of folders which Grissom had clutched under his arm. Confusion spread across her face as she looked at the stack of Grissom's paperwork, as the cogs clicked into place.

"Hell no Gill, I'm not doing your paperwork and mine!"

"You offered. Now bring them back when you're done. Thanks again Catherine!" At that Grissom turned and left Catherine stood there hands on hips, biting her tongue, anger clearly displayed across her face.

Catherine huffed and stormed off to her office slamming the door behind her. This week could not get any worse!

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Sara slammed the fridge door with her foot as she pulled out a beer and cracked the cap before heading back to the sofa. There was no point trying to sleep. Ever since Sara got home she couldn't stop thinking of Catherine.

The TV flickered mindlessly in the background as the cool liquid slipped down Sara's throat. The empty bottle soon found its way to the growing line along the coffee table.

Sara shuffled to the balcony doors and slumped down into a sun lounger as she pulled out a cigarette and snapped up the lighter from the small table. Sara slowly let out a deep breath watching the smoke curl in circles into the cold air, weaving patterns into the sky as the sun slowly inched its way up announcing a new day.

The shrill buzz of the door dragged Sara from her thoughts.

"Hmm about time Greg got here, shift should have finished nearly an hour ago." Sara slurred as she heaved herself up and hit the door open button without lifting the receiver.

Sara opened her front door and went back to the kitchen for another beer. She was going to need it if she was about to tell Greg what an ass she had made of herself yesterday.

She was soon sat back on the sofa as she hugged her knees and sipped her beer, waiting for Greg.

The front door clicked shut and Sara didn't even look up when she heard quiet footsteps across her living room or the hiss of the brown leather as Greg sat in the chair just to her right out of her vision.

The silence stretched for too long and Sara felt the urge to talk. Greg was too good at getting her to talk.

"I kissed her Greg. I don't know what came over me, I just… I just couldn't think straight, she was right there so close. First I wouldn't dance and she ran off offended and then I kissed her. I'm never going to be able to go back to work, I really thought this time we could have been friends. Then I had to go and screw things up. I couldn't even apologise I just ran. Oh Greg what am I supposed to do? I can't live with her hating me again. I... I... well… you know how I feel."

Sara sniffed and took a deep swig of the warming beer; swiping in vain at her eyes as a small tear trailed down her cheek. Sara was glad she had her back to Greg as she quietly started sobbing, finally letting her emotions loose. "I… I just can't believe how much I've screwed things up."

"You haven't screwed anything up Sara."

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	3. Chapter 3

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**Ok so here's chapter 3, again same disclaimers apply.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, and yep you all guessed right!**

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Sara's breath caught in her throat. She froze. Shit. This could not be happening.

"Why are you here?" Sara asked bitterly as she quickly found her defences building.

Catherine didn't answer. If she was honest she didn't even know what she wanted. She had always liked Sara; admired her passion and dedication. Deep down she knew that she has always wanted to find out what it would be like to have Sara as dedicated and passionate towards her as she was to her work.

Yet what was she supposed to say to Sara now? She didn't want to lead Sara on at all, especially after Sara's little outburst.

The silence stretched on for too long and Sara turned round to face Catherine.

"Well?" Sara raised an eyebrow, praying that her eyes weren't as red and puffy as she knew they would be. "Are you just gunna sit there and stare or did you want something?"

Catherine flinched slightly at Sara's tone.

"Well, you weren't in work. I just wanted to check you were ok." Catherine was internally kicking herself for not taking the chance to talk to Sara about the situation.

"Right…" Sara obviously didn't believe Catherine. She stood up, wobbling slightly as she lent forward and placed her beer on the coffee table. Sara stood in front of Catherine arms out to her sides. "Well as you can see I'm fine. I look fine right? So, Catherine, mission accomplished, now you can leave"

Catherine stared at Sara, open mouthed. How could someone go from sobbing and saying she couldn't live with her hating her, to this? Sara could be defensive, argumentative and damn right stubborn; but Catherine was not expecting her to react like this.

"Sara, please can we just talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about? We've already figured out that I'm fine! Go. Home."

Catherine sighed and stood up; bringing Sara's face once again only inches from hers. Sara swayed slightly as her eyes tried to quickly readjust to the sudden closeness. Catherine's face wrinkled slightly in confusion as she noted Sara's brown orbs darkening in what she could only assume was lust; or was it something deeper?

Sara's eyes ran over Catherine's face taking in her beauty. Why did this have to be so difficult?

"You're still here." Sara stated softly, almost whispering, fighting to hold the distance between them this time.

Catherine found her hand had moved to tuck a strand of Sara's hair behind her ear as she spoke, "I'm going to leave. Please don't drink any more, get some sleep and I'll see you in work tomorrow?"

Sara broke the eye contact first, looking to the floor. When Sara didn't answer Catherine sighed sadly and turned to leave.

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Catherine tossed her bag on the side as she walked in. She walked straight to her room and kicked her shoes off before flopping down on her bed.

She stared at the ceiling running a hand through her hair. What was going on? For a second in Sara's apartment she had thought that Sara was going to kiss her again. It was weird but she had actually wanted her to.

What Sara had said about not being able to live with them hating each other anymore was true. Catherine didn't want to go back.

She shut her eyes trying to stop thinking, she was exhausted; yet Sara's words to Greg ran through her head over and over, one line sticking out among the others.

"_I... I... well… you know how I feel."_

What was she going to say? Catherine wished she knew how Sara felt about her. Part of her wanted to believe that Sara was trying to say she loved her, but she didn't want to build herself up for another fall.

"Gah, Sara what's going on?" Catherine grumbled aloud in frustration.

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Greg glanced at his watch as he got to Sara's door. His case had been pretty complicated and he'd ended up staying much later than he had planned. Hoping Sara was still up he knocked on her apartment door.

Sara didn't answer so he pulled his key out. Sara had given him a key to her apartment a while back but he still felt awkward actually using it and letting himself in.

The door swung open slowly and Greg peeked his head around the door.

"Sara? It's me, I'm sorry it's so late." He scuffed his feet on the mat as he walked in and glanced around at the living room. Bottles lined the floor around the couch and the TV flashed some generic medical drama in the corner.

The curtains rippled in the breeze and caught Greg's attention. Moving over to the open doors Greg saw Sara sitting out by her small balcony table, hunched over with her elbows on her knees.

Greg moved up behind her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder has he leaned over and took the cigarette out of her hand stubbing it out in the ash tray.

"You're late." Sara mumbled hiding behind her hair.

"I know Sar; I'm sorry I had a tough case and couldn't get away." Greg pulled up the second chair and sat at Sara's side, beginning to rub her back as he tried to comfort her.

"It's ok." Sara stated simply, still not looking up.

"So Sara, what's going on with you and Catherine?" Greg knew it wasn't always a great idea to out right ask, sometimes with Sara it was best to not say anything and soon everything would flood out. For some reason this time he felt the need to ask.

Sara took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I can't do it anymore Greg. I need her in my life. I need to be able to show her how much I care for her. I'm fed up of seeing her hurting after all those guys treat her like trash. I think I love her." The last part was so quiet Greg wondered if she had said it or not.

Over the last few months Greg had noticed something eating away at Sara, slowly killing her inside. Eventually Sara had cracked and confessed that she liked Catherine in more than just a friendly way. He hadn't been surprised; in fact he had only been surprised that Sara hadn't noticed sooner.

Greg noticed the small things; the subtle glances when Catherine entered the room, the slight pink shade which clouded Sara's cheeks when Catherine gave her a compliment but mostly the emotion in Sara's eyes when Catherine spoke to her. Whether they were talking about a case, their nights off or arguing, Sara's eyes were never as alive as they were with Catherine.

"I know Sar, I know it's hard." Greg comforted her, waiting for Sara to continue.

"I've screwed it all up. I kissed her Greg. We were drunk and just having so much fun, she was so carefree. And then I messed it up. I wouldn't dance. I can't be that close to her. She stormed off because I wouldn't dance with her." Sara voice was trembling as she spoke. She could feel the lump in her throat rising as told the story: she could feel the tears building in her eyes again.

"We… we were out in the alley where she ran, and I kissed her. It just felt so right. I know it was stupid; I've ruined our friendship when it was going so well. She probably hates me. I mean she likes guys! She probably never wants to see me again. I should just leave. That's what she probably came here earlier to tell me…"

"Whoa, Sara! Just a sec. Did you just say she came here?" Greg hadn't been blind to the bad mood Catherine was in all shift and felt his anger rising as he pictured Catherine coming here and yelling at Sara when she was this broken.

"Yeh. She came by after shift. She wanted to know where I was and make sure I was ok." Sara sniffed. "I think that was a lie, I think she came here to tell me to leave her alone but she didn't do it. She seemed to care. She asked me not to drink anymore. We had a… umm… what do you call it? A thing…"

"A moment?" Greg suggested, slightly shocked.

"I guess. She should hate me. I was mean to her; I made her leave and wouldn't talk to her. I nearly kissed her again. Oh Greg what am I supposed to do?" Sara looked up for the first time.

Greg's heart clenched as he saw Sara's eyes. Her brown eyes were dark and hollow with sadness, framed by blotchy tear streaked skin. He reached out a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear, a little hurt when this time she flinched at his touch.

"I'm sorry Sara, I really am, I just don't know what to suggest." He slowly shook his head from side to side once, "I've told you before that you should just talk to her, but if you can't do that then I don't know what to say."

Sara stared blankly as he continued. "You can't keep letting this eat at you. You have to tell her. If you never tell her you'll never know."

"Humph" Sara snorted "I'm sure she knows by now, when she was here earlier I thought she was you, she just came in and sat behind me. If she didn't know how I felt before she'd have to be pretty stupid to not know now!"

"Maybe she needs time to think?" It hurt Greg too much to see Sara like this. Couldn't Catherine see what she was doing to her? It was time he did something about this whole mess. It might not have been his brightest idea but he planned to pay Catherine a visit when he left – though he was yet to decide how much he would say. He just couldn't carry on seeing Sara this way.

"Think about how to get me fired you mean?"

Greg shook his head sadly. "No you know I didn't mean that. Come on Sara, you look shattered let's get you to bed."

Sara nodded a little and pulled herself up from the chair, dragging her feet as she made her way to the bedroom.

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Greg felt Sara slowly relax as her breathing deepened; finally giving into sleep. He carefully moved out from under her sheets where he had been trying to give her enough comfort to let go – at least for long enough for her to get some rest.

Sara made a small grumbling sound at the loss of warmth and rolled over in her sleep.

Greg ran a hand across her head and pulled the duvet up a little more before silently walking to the door.

Making his way to the kitchen Greg dug a black sack out from under the sink and began to collect all the bottles from around the apartment, putting things back in their right places as he went.

Satisfied that the apartment was as clean as it was going to get Greg went back to Sara's room and leant in the doorway. The slow rise and fall of the sheets along with the peaceful expression told him that Sara was still asleep.

"Goodnight Sar. Things will work themselves out soon enough, I promise." He spoke quietly so as not to wake her, and with that he left, the apartment door clicking quietly behind him.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Ok so I'm not gunna make any excuses for taking so long, I just didn't know how to do this. **

**You guys should thank **_**Piper Gilmore**_** for reviewing and reminding me to get my ass in gear and get this update out to you!**

**Thanks for all the reviews! XD**

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Catherine slowly made her way to the front door and glanced at her watch wondering who would be around this time of day.

"Hmmm if this is a door to door sales person I'm gunna be mad" she muttered under her breath.

After getting in from visiting Sara, Cath had gotten ready for bed, and though it had been several hours she hadn't managed to even doze off.

Catherine swung the front door open with one hand; the other placed on her hip as she glared expectantly and the young man on the door step.

"Uhh… Cath, hi." Greg looked down at Catherine's attire and blushed a little as he took in the curves of her hips under the thin pyjamas.

Catherine found herself grinning as she waited for the young CSI to focus on her face again as she raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh crap Cath, I'm really sorry. Did I wake you? I'm sorry I can come back some other time" Greg turned to leave but hadn't even made it off the porch before Catherine called him back.

"No, no it's fine, I wasn't asleep anyway." Catherine's curiosity got the better of her; and besides she wasn't going to get any sleep before shift now anyway.

Greg turned around and after studying her features briefly, realised that she was telling the truth. She didn't look sleepy at all; in fact she looked worried or upset.

"So what can I do for you Greggo?"

Catherine's question pulled Greg's mind back to why he was here. Suddenly he began to wonder if this was his best idea. Too late to turn back now.

Greg tried to regain some composure; he was going to do no good for Sara if he was acting like a teenage boy.

"It's about Sara" He stated simply, waiting to gauge Catherine's reaction.

Her face fell and brow creased slightly. Greg tried to place the emotion which had briefly flashed across her face. Dejection? Anguish? Despair? He wasn't quite sure. "Oh OK then. Come on in. Sit. I'll get us some coffee." Not even waiting for Greg to answer Catherine turned around and walked to the kitchen, leaving a slightly confused Greg standing in the doorway.

This wasn't right, in his mind he had imagined walking into Catherine's house and calmly but firmly letting her know what she was doing to his best friend. He had expected Catherine to be unaffected by all this. In a strange way he had even wanted to blame her for this happening. He couldn't stand to see Sara hurting so badly and wanted someone to blame.

Yet seeing Catherine so despondent he didn't know what to think. It was obvious that Catherine needed comfort just as much as Sara had. They were both hurting.

Greg closed the door quietly and made his way over to sit uneasily on the sofa as he waited for Catherine to return.

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"So what does she want?" Catherine's words came out quietly, not at all how she had intended. Instead of sounding the strong and confident woman that she showed everyone she was momentarily as self conscious as she felt.

Greg thumbed the handle of his mug, watching the steam rising and curling into the air. His mind ticked away silently as pictures of Sara hunched over her cigarette echoed through his head; reminding him why he was here.

"Did she send you here? What does she want, me to change shifts or something? I'm assuming she's told you everything considering she told me earlier thinking I was you."

Looking up Greg met Catherine's eyes before answering.

"Firstly, no she doesn't know I'm here. I came here because I don't think you know what you do to her. I know you feel something for her, its too obvious. To everyone but her that is. She thinks you hate her you know?"

Catherine didn't answer and just looked down into her coffee until Greg started talking again.

"You don't hate her Cath; tell me I'm right on this one?"

Catherine felt her eyes welling up a little though couldn't place why. She didn't hate her no; but feeling something for her? This was all too confusing.

"I don't know Greg. I mean no… no, I don't hate her. I don't know what I feel. It doesn't matter anyway it would never work with us. We are both so damn stubborn. Just leave it alone."

Greg sighed and set his drink down on the coffee table.

"Cath, really you should see the state she's in. I don't think she'd slept at all since it happened. She was completely wasted when I got there, you might not know this but Sara gave up drinking. Smoking too for that matter. She's really beating herself up over this whole thing…"

"Just stop Greg. Don't you think I know this already? I feel awful, I just want to talk to her and she pretty much kicked me out. I saw what state she was in… I saw it."

Catherine sniffed and rested her forehead into her hand, concentrating on holding back the tears. She did not need to cry in front of Greg.

"Cath?" Greg slowly reached out and placed a careful hand on Catherine's forearm.

Guilt rushed through him as Catherine finally looked up, eyes glassy with unshed tears.

Catherine pulled her arm from Greg and buried her face in both hands as she slowly lost the fight. Greg shuffled along the sofa and pulled her into his arms.

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Catherine glanced up as she felt Greg yawn, pulling back slightly too focus on him.

"You should go catch some sleep before shift."

Greg smiled a little and so Catherine continued, "I'm sorry Greg; I know you came here for Sara sake and I just can't give you any answers. I don't know what happened, or is happening. She won't even talk to me. I don't know what I'd say anyway."

Greg nodded sadly and squeezed Catherine's should as he stood up.

"I'm sorry I came storming over here. Take care of yourself Cath. I'll cya later"

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Shift dragged the next evening, cases were slow and so most of the CSIs used the time to catch up with paperwork.

Sara glanced at her watch, for once she was counting down the minutes until she could get out of this place. It looked like they would all get out of here on time tonight; for once the city was giving them a break.

Clicking her pen closed and scooping up all her files Sara stood up and began to pack away.

_6:53… hmm it's not like I'm gunna get any more done anyway. _

Sara made her way to the locker room hoping that she would be in and out before Catherine decided it was time to leave.

She rounded the corner and into the locker room while glancing in the direction of Catherine's office. She was trying to avoid her but part of her still longed to see her, touch her soft skin, feel the heat of her lips pressed against her own.

_Head out the gutter Sidle…_

"What was that?" Sara's heart skipped a beat at the woman's voice coming from the locker room she had just entered.

_Oh God, did I say that out loud? Shit Shit Shit._

Sara looked up slightly sheepishly; looking around the room for the first time.

"Oh. Sofia. Hi. It was nothing just mumbling away to myself as usual." Sara shrugged and forced a grin, attempting to brush it off.

_Wow you do not know how glad I am to see you Sof..._

Sofia smirked and raised an eyebrow at Sara. "Really Sar? Just how _glad_ would that be?"

_Crap! Seriously what's with this thinking out loud thing!_

Sara looked down letting her hair fall forwards in hope that it might hide her now flush cheeks.

"Umm sorry, it's just… Uhh…"

"Shhhhh." Sofia stepped forwards and pressed her finger against Sara's lips. "Don't say anything."

Sara stiffened at her touch but Sofia didn't seem to notice.

Sofia stared into Sara's eyes and Sara tried desperately to read her now blank expression.

Sofia slow let her finger trail down Sara's chin and slowly to her collar before skimming downwards until her hand rested on Sara's hip.

"I'll cya tomorrow Sidle." Sofia stated as she brushed passed Sara and off down the hallway.

Sara stood awkwardly a second, trying to decide what had just happened. Was that Sofia's idea of a joke? Was she hitting on her?

"Argh why is everything so fricken complicated!" Sara mumbled leaning on the doorframe as she turned to see Sofia's figure turn the corner in the distance.

It was then she looked back towards Catherine's office; only to see Catherine stopped dead in her tracks only a few paces away.

Hurt flashed across her features, vanishing as soon as she noticed Sara had seen her.

They made eye contact; neither spoke or moved for what seemed like an age.

Sara opened her mouth as if to say something but before she could talk Catherine had turned on her heels and marched off in the direction of the office.

"Cath…" Sara called half heartedly after her, pushing herself off the door frame.

The office door slammed, rattling the windows.

Sara slowed to a stop. What was she thinking? She couldn't just go up and knock on her door. Besides who says Catherine even saw anything? She's probably just still mad at her for kicking her out this morning.

Though it wasn't like Catherine to keep quiet. Sara had been hiding away all shift, partially because she knew she couldn't see Catherine but also because she was sure that if she did Catherine would most likely start a fight.

Sighing Sara turned and walked back to the locker room grabbing her stuff and clicking the locker shut behind her. She leant her head against the cold metal and closed her eyes.

Taking a breath Sara turned in the small space and paced to the wall and back again, spinning on her toes she walked purposefully to the wall and felt the sharp stabbing pain in her knuckles before she'd realised she'd just punched the wall full force.

Air sucked into her lungs as she slowly sank to her knees cupping her right hand with her left and gritting her teeth to stop from yelling out in pain.

Soft footsteps echoed on the tiled floor behind her and Sara quickly stood up and shoved her hand into her pocket.

"You alright Sara?" Warrick made his way into the locker room and went for his locker.

"Uh, yeh, fine, just dropped my cell." Sara was glad that Warrick knew her well enough to not directly confront her as he acted disinterested and rummaged for something apparently deep in his locker.

"Ah ok then. Well I'll letcha go then, don't wait for me." He pulled his head out of the locker and shot Sara a smile. "Damn girl! Go get some sleep you look exhausted!"

Sara nodded and gave a half smile, before quickly making her way out of the building and headed for home – though sleep was not the highest on her list of priorities.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Here we go again, this time a much shorter wait! **

**Thanks to those who have taken the time to review, a shout out to chawkchic who has reviewed every chapter so far! Thanks very much, it's regular reviews like that that make me keep going.**

**Anyway enough procrastination…**

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Sara walked into her apartment bolting the door behind her. She emptied her pockets on the kitchen side board and pulled herself up onto a stool.

She hissed as she flexed her knuckles, running a finger along the red swelling. It was already going purple slightly around the edges and the skin was slightly raw and broken from scuffing the wall.

The little red light on the answering machine flashed sporadically and caught the corner of her eye.

Reaching over with her left hand she hit the play button.

"Hey Sar, it's just me." Greg's voice filled her kitchen, "Sorry I didn't manage to catch you at work today, Grissom sent me home early because I had nothing to do. I hope you slept ok. I tidied up a bit before I left, please don't take that the wrong way, I just didn't want you waking up to all those empty bottles. Look, give me a ring later if you feel up to it. Anyway if not I'll see you tomorrow."

Sara looked around her apartment, only just realising the place was actually cleaner than it had been in a long time.

"Oh Greggo you didn't have to do that…"

Sara was interrupted by a long beep signalling the next message.

"Hmmm two messages in one day, aren't I lucky?"

"Hey, um look about earlier, I was wondering if you'd like to meet me for coffee before next shift? How about the dinner the guys drag us to for breakfast sometimes? Well uhh give me a text or something? Ok then, bye."

Sara wrinkled her nose up and frowned at the phone.

"Coffee? Hmmmm I dunno, we'll see…" She trailed off as she pulled a bottle out the fridge and headed for the sofa.

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Sara stared at her contact list on the messenger window. She couldn't sleep, there was nothing on TV and now there was no one to talk to.

She clicked through her emails lazily.

_Junk. Junk. Junk. Hmm some forensics book review… hell why not._

Click.

Sara fiddled with the string on her pyjamas as she read the article. She paused as she got to the end and saw a conference advertised by the author of the book.

_Hell why not, I could do with a break._

Hitting the 'Send to a Friend' button she quickly tapped in Grissom's email address before shutting the lid of her laptop.

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Catherine grinned and waved as Lindsay bounced off through the school gates linking arms with one of her young friends.

As soon as Lindsay had gone out of sight Catherine's face fell, cheeks aching from forcing a smile the entire ride over here. She shifted into gear and headed back home.

Seeing lines of break lights ahead, Catherine growled and hit her hand on the steering wheel.

"You know I really, really hate Vegas traffic sometimes!" She muttered as the car slowed to a crawl and finally to a stop.

Rolling the window down and leaning her elbow on the car door Catherine ran a hand through her long curls.

A large neon sign flashed to her left and she glanced over at Benny's.

_Great! Just what I needed. As if I'm not thinking about her enough as it is!_

_Besides it doesn't even matter what I feel anymore, from what I saw earlier. I mean it's been what 2 days, and she's already off with Sofia? Damn Sidle that's low._

Catherine looked ahead, frustrated to see the traffic not shifting at all.

"Fine you know what? I needed a drink anyway." She said; voice a little louder than she had intended which gained her a weird look from a twenty-something guy passing on the sidewalk.

Slamming the gear stick into first she pulled out of the traffic and into Benny's car park.

As the Tahoe beeped locked she leant against the side and flipped her phone open to scroll through her contacts.

"Hey Nance… Yeh everything's fine. Are you busy? … Great I'm round at Benny's if you wanna drink? You know that bar just round the block from you? Traffic's at standstill again and I can't be bothered with sitting it out… Ok I'll see you in 5."

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"So Cat, what's up with you? Why haven't I seen you in a while? Got a new guy on the go you're not telling me about?"

Nancy smiled cheekily and took a sip from her straw.

"Actually no. I've just been a bit swamped. Sorry, I did mean to call you but I just didn't manage it."

"That's ok, you know Linds said something before you picked her up, she wanted me to check you're ok. Apparently you seemed a little down when she got in from school last night. I told her you were probably just not looking forward to a case in work or something. But you know kids pick up on things, so spill it – I know it's not work."

Lindsay had been home for a couple of hours after school, after Greg had left, before being sent off to Nancy's for the night.

_How could Linds have known? I'm sure I didn't say anything or act any differently._

_Oh well. I guess it can't hurt to see what Nancy has to say about all this._

Catherine pushed the ice around in her glass before looking up.

"I guess I was just a bit upset. Well not upset, confused. I ki... no wait… she kissed me. And now she won't talk to me about it."

Nancy smiled sympathetically.

"Hey, it's ok. Is this someone from work? Have you tried asking… waiiiit a second… you just said _she _kissed you?!"

Catherine rolled her eyes dramatically.

"How did I know you would pick up on that? Come on Nancy you know I've been with a girl before. Why do you always act so surprised? That's not even the point; the point is she won't talk to me! Yes she's from work. And no I can't have tried asking anything because she won't let me.

I went round there yesterday after shift. She hadn't turned up so I thought id see if she was ok. I know her she takes things too seriously sometimes. We just needed to talk about it.

We were so drunk and having a great time, it doesn't mean anything. Surely she can't actually believe that I'd hate her just for a kiss?"

Nancy didn't answer for a second.

"I'm sorry Cath, I don't mean to seem so judgmental, it just still kinda surprises me you know? I mean all those guys who are interested in you, and still you turn them away. I don't get it."

Catherine pushed their empty glasses across the bar and signalled for refills.

"I turn them away because most of them are assholes. We both know all they want is sex; especially when they find out about Lindsay."

The bar man came over and poured Catherine another neat Jack Daniels, topping Nancy's up with Coke. He put the bottle back on the shelf and turned to Catherine.

"That's another 6 please."

Catherine smiled and reached into her purse pulling out a 5 bill and a collection of coins.

"Thanks Honey. Say weren't you in here the other day with you're brunette friend? Gosh what's her name, she used to be in here all the time but it's the first time I'd seen her in ages…"

"Sara." Catherine answered quietly, inwardly cringing and hoping Nancy didn't recognise the name.

"Ahh that's right. Anyway I'll let y'all get to your drinks. Tell Sara I said hi now won't you?"

The bar man happily trotted off to the other end of the bar to serve a group of guys who had just walked in.

Neither sister said anything for several minutes until Nancy broke the silence.

"So… Sara huh? Sara Sidle? Sara I-investigated-your-husbands-death Sidle? Sara who you went postal on and blamed for not solving the case? SARA kissed you!?"

"Oh shush Nancy. Yes that Sara. That was a long time ago, it's fine honestly."

"A long time ago? Cath it wasn't even 2 years!"

Catherine glared at Nancy before opening her mouth again.

"I said it's fine. It was just a surprise. If you'd bothered to ask you'd know we were getting on better these days. But I dunno lately I get these weird feelings that something's changed. Sure it's changed in the way that we aren't at each others throats so much anymore but there's something else."

"You enjoy spending time with her?"

Catherine nodded.

"And you were here, alone, the other night?"

Again Catherine nodded.

"And you said you were having a great time?"

Nod.

"So then what, she kissed you and now you don't know what's going on?"

Catherine sighed, unable to see where Nancy was going with this.

"Exactly. Now please will you tell me what this matters?"

"The way I see it, it sounds like you like her."

Catherine stared at Nancy open mouthed, eye brows raised.

"Where the hell did you get that from?"

"Oh come on Cath, don't try to make out you haven't thought about it. I know you. If someone kisses you and you aren't interested then that's fine you don't go chasing after them to 'talk'. You leave it and act as if nothing's new."

Catherine frowned a little, leaning back from the bar to fold her arms across her chest. She chewed a little on the side of her bottom lip before huffing.

"I dunno Nancy. Let's just talk about something else; this conversation isn't helping me relax!"

Nancy shrugged.

"Fine. Whatever. You know you can't deny it forever. Let's change the subject."

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Sara lay, staring at the ceiling, the light outside was slowly fading as night fell on the city. Sirens blared in the distance cars honked as the city woke up.

Cursing under her breath, Sara rolled over and pick her phone up off the bedside table and hitting the menu and scrolling to a new message.

'_I'll be there. Sara.'_

She stared at the words on the screen as her thumb hovered over the send button.

"What am I thinking?!" She shut her eyes tight and winced as she heard the beep announcing her message had been sent.

Despite having not slept at all, Sara rolled off the bed and began getting ready for work. She'd have to be quick if she was going to be on time for this talk.

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End file.
